This is Your Brain on Exercise

IN YOUR DAILY DOSE today is research originating from the University of California that images exactly what your brain looks like during exercise and how it affects your health and wellness.

IN MAKING CHANGES today are strategies to help you increase the amount of exercise you get each day - and it isn’t to workout more!

IN FACT OR FICTION you’ll discover exactly how intelligent these sea faring mammals are. This one recognized hand signals from a diver.

In The News

At the University of California at Davis Health System, researchers found that people who exercised experienced an increase in blood levels of two common neurotransmitters responsible for chemical messaging inside your brain. These neurotransmitters, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), are important within the brain and represent an important step in understanding brain metabolism.

This imaging also hints at reasons why exercise has an effect on mental disorders, such as depression, and why endurance athletes may “hit the wall.” The researchers measured both neurotransmitters at two different parts of the brain before and immediately after vigorous exercise sessions. Increases were found in the visual center and the area that regulates heart rate, some cognitive function and your emotions.

Although the physical benefits of exercise have been documented for years, this research holds some promise in the treatments of neurological disorders and mental health problems, namely depression. Staying physically active is a singularly important key in maintaining your physical and mental health and wellness.

Making Changes

You know that being active is important, but the question is how to get that done. Recent research has also determined that sitting behind a desk all day will also increase your risk of heart disease. Here are several tips you can use to increase the amount of movement you get each day. The first one is a given!

1. Exercise vigorously for at least 30 minutes each day doing whatever cardiovascular exercise you enjoy. It doesn’t matter so much what you do as long as it lasts for 30 minutes, gets your heart and respiration rate elevated and you do it 5 days a week.

2. Get out of your chair for at least 10 minutes every hour. It is more effective if you break it up to 3-4 minutes every 15 minutes. Stretch, move around, walk a bit, or do some jumping jacks at your desk.

3. Walk during your lunch hour instead of sitting down with your friends. Form a walking group that gets together each day at lunch to walk instead of smoking and eating.

4. Purchase a treadmill or elliptical trainer for your home which you can use while watching television.

5. Sit on an exercise ball at work instead of a chair. It improves your posture and builds your core muscles.

My Daily Affirmation

I focus on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and other healthy options. I select well-balanced meals with a healthy mix of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

I use variety to keep me coming back for more of the healthy stuff. I add new flavors, herbs, and spices to my foods to make them more interesting. They taste better than junk food and help keep me healthy.

Fact Or Fiction?

Generally recognized as intelligent, these mammals that live in the sea may be smarter than you think. They live in pods and help each other raise their families. This one appears to be an ambassador to us.

Unlike other animals, dolphins are extremely intelligent. They can communicate between themselves and with humans. They live in pods or families of up to 12 individuals and help to raise their young together. They have excellent eyesight, hearing and can locate objects using echolocation. And, believe it or not, the Orca - also called the Killer Whale - is actually a species of dolphin. This video demonstrates how one wild dolphin could recognize the signals from this diver and submitted to his care.